Kosovo move step closer to Olympic dream

Lausanne (AFP) - Kosovo took a significant step towards being able to compete in an Olympic Games when the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday granted provisional recognition to its Olympic Committee.

They also proposed the NOC be granted full recognition at the next IOC Session to be held in December in Monaco which if passed would allow them to try and qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"The decision was taken by the Executive Board in the interests of the athletes in Kosovo and to remove any uncertainty they may have," read the IOC statement.

"It will allow them to take part in qualifications for the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and in future editions of the Games."

The NOC of Kosovo was established in 1992 and has more than 30 affiliated National Federations (NFs), 13 of which are Olympic sports federations.

"The EB noted that the NOC of Kosovo has met the requirements for recognition as outlined in the Olympic Charter," read the statement.

"These include the sport and technical requirements as well as the definition of ?country? as defined in Rule 30.1 ? ?an independent State recognised by the international community.? Kosovo is recognised as a country by 108 of the 193 UN Member States."

Kosovo -- which has a population of 1.74 million and is predominantly ethnic Albanian -- is a former Serbian province which unilaterally proclaimed independence in 2008.

Serbia has never recognised their independence.

The Serbs and ethnic Albanian guerillas engaged in a war from 1998-99, but a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbian troops to leave Kosovo and lose control over the territory.